How can I keep saddle from slipping to side on horse with mutton withers

[Sticky_Situation]

My event horse is an Appendix QH who isn’t super wide but has very low, mutton-withers. When I ride him in my dressage saddle, it tends to slip to the outside on him slightly unless I really tighten the girth. It’s not a drastic, gonna-end-up-in-the-dirt kind of slide, but it’s just enough that it tips my pelvis to the outside and causes me to have unequal weight in my seat bones if I’m sitting straight in the saddle.

Aside from tightening his girth excessively, is there anything that helps stop small amounts of lateral slippage? My saddle is a County Connection, which fits him fairly well although I do have to use a half pad with shims in the cantle because the cantle tends to sit a bit low. I realize that doesn’t help with the slipping, but it is necessary for the saddle to sit level on him. A breastplate won’t help because the amount of slip is very small and it doesn’t slip back, only laterally. I use a Wintec girth with it.

Do those nonslip pads work? I’ve read some varying reviews on their effectiveness, and a lot of reports that they rip easily and don’t hold up to everyday use? Or is there an alternative that works better? Any particular girths that help with slipping without being ridiculously tight?

I’m looking for a reasonably priced solution … getting a new saddle or custom saddle is not an option. Yes, I realize that if I rode perfectly in balance with equal weight in both stirrups 100% of the time the saddle probably would not slip, but that is much easier said than done!

[elleng0728]

I have had some luck with the eco gold dressage pads

[sdlbredfan]

Cantle low = saddle tipping to the back = saddle is not wide enough most likely.
Are you putting the saddle far enough back, past the withers? Maybe take a side view picture for us, so we can actually ‘eyeball’ the situation?

[pattnic]

Sounds like wrong tree size or shape, or a combination of the two.

[jaybird660]

I agree with some of what has been said above. The saddle might be too angular and/or too narrow and not “draping” around the horse. When a saddle perches, it is tippier laterally So, it could be that your horse needs a hoop tree or something closer to a hoop tree and/or wider.

[CERT]

I have mostly drafts and draft-type ponies. They are all (extra) wide, but wither shape varies. I personally only have issues with slippage if I flub mounting and haven’t tightened the girth enough (my general rule is I should be able to fit two fingers and feel pressure).

If it is only ever to the outside regardless of what direction you are traveling in you are allowing the centrifugal force to push you to the outside of your line of travel. This is very common. Before you buy a magic fix I would suggest trying to ride through your turns with the feeling of “pointing” your inside seatbone in the direction of travel. You’re not leaning in to compensate, just a very, very subtle shifting of weight towards your desired direction of travel to keep you from falling to the outside.

One of our mares is VERY uphill, her withers are at least two inches taller than her croup, maybe more, I’d have to measure, but she needs a riser pad in any saddle I put on her. She also lacks a really defined wither, but I don’t have much issue with lateral slipping except for riders who consistently lean. This leads me to think that you might have a greater saddle fit issue, especially on what I assume is a dressage saddle that has longer flaps and should sit “around” the horse more than a general purpose or close contact.

[Magicboy]

I’ve used a nonslip pad from Nunn Finer but you’ll probably have to adress saddle fit eventually

[StormyDay]

I own your horses’ twin.
Just as others have said, I can pretty much guarantee your saddle is not wide enough at the top. You need a hoop tree saddle, like a duett saddle. There are several brands out there, passier, duett, throughgood, and usually the normal saddle makers will make dressage saddles that are hoop treed too, like albion. Your problem won’t totally go away without getting a different saddle, sorry. I would try contacting either maryland saddlery or middleburg tack, they will have one that will work and not break the bank. I got one at maryland tack for 200$. You need a medium tree, but it must be a hoop tree.
Other solutions in the mean time are using the first and last billets (though usually dressage saddles only have two) and the non slip pads. They do help, I have ecogold and a success equestrian ones.

[Farys]

A cheap non slip option to try before you spend money on a non slip pad is that sticky shelf liner stuff.

http://duckbrand.com/products/shelf-liner-bath/non-adhesive-shelf-liner/original-grip/taupe-12-in-x-5-ft

Just cut a piece big enough to fit under your saddle

I agree though that it doesn’t sound like your saddle fits properly and is likely causing the balance issues.

[Demera]

Another thing than can help is a really wide girth, so there’s lots of surface area which gives more grip and less slip. I use a Pressure-Eze girth and it makes a noticeable improvement on sideways slippage on that type of horse without having to do it up really tight. Not sure if these are available outside Australia though.

[Nojacketrequired]

Do I feel your pain.
We tried everything and eventually what did the trick was a Kent and Masters cob dressage saddle adjusted to him with an Eco Gold non-slip pad.

NJR

[asterix]

my husband’s hunt horse is shaped like a barrel (perch morgan cross!) and what works for him is a well-fitted saddle (yes, wide, and yes, shaped like the horse is…) with an ecogold non-slip pad.

[AllWeatherGal]

The horse I’m riding now did okay with non-slip saddle pads from http://successequestrian.com/ for a long while.

Nothing beats finding the elusive correctly fitted saddle, tho.

[mountainhorse]

I agree with saddle fit. To answer the question-how to keep a saddle from slipping on a mutton withered horse? Get a saddle that fits the horse.

As a fitter, I would highly recommend getting your saddle checked again and trying other saddle options (look for hoop trees that accommodate a wide, mutton withered horse) before looking to ‘non slip’ options that might help with the slipping but not remedy the fit. And of course, a saddle that doesn’t fit is going to create much greater issues than slipping.
Cantle low indicates saddle is too narrow, and tree shape isn’t suitable for your horse.

Once you confirm the saddle size/shape fits your horse, go from there. Most of the time, it will remedy the slipping. Some horses/riders that have movement in a fitting saddle can utilize a non-slip like EcoGold to help, but there should be minimal movement to begin with.